Lawmaker demands Obama reverse GM decision on plant closure

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) directly blamed the Obama administration for a plant closure in his district, demanding that President Obama personally reverse General Motors' decision.

Jordan blasted the White House for trying to "micromanage" the auto industry, and demanded that Cabinet officials dispatched throughout the Midwest this week include a visit to a Mansfield, Ohio stamping plant GM said would close next June.

"President Obama took the unprecedented step of intervening in private business by replacing the former CEO of General Motors," Jordan said in a statement. "He can certainly take the honorable step in reversing his decision to close down our good General Motors facility."

GM announced Monday it would close nine plants and idle three, with the bulk of those plants located in Michigan and Ohio.

Senior administration officials indicated in a conference call with reporters Sunday night that GM would make the decisions on plant closures, not administration officials. The White House proclaimed that one of its guiding principles for owning a majority stake in GM would be to resist getting involved in the company's day-to-day operations.

"The Obama Administration has dispatched cabinet officials and members of the Auto Task Force across the Midwest to tour auto facilities," Jordan said of Cabinet officials' planned visits to auto towns throughout the Midwest this week. "I demand the Administration change their schedule to include a visit to Ontario, Ohio -- to tour the facility and look our workers in the eyes to tell them why they chose to close their plant."